The AI-Native, Open-Core CMS for Next.js 16
Speed. Scalability. AI-Readiness (coming soon).
Build premium, high-performance websites in minutes, not months.
👉 View Live Demo
Explore the admin dashboard in our public sandbox (resets every 15 minutes).
User: demo@nextblock.ca • Pass: password
Tired of slow WordPress sites? Finding headless CMSs too complex? NextBlock™ is the sweet spot.
We combined the flexibility of a Block Editor with the raw power of Next.js 16 Server Components. The result is a CMS that feels like a static site but manages like a dynamic platform.
⚡ 100% Lighthouse Performance: Built-in edge caching, image optimization, and zero layout shift. Speed is not a plugin; it's the default.🤖 Built for AI Agents: Our codebase is documented and structured specifically to be easily read and extended by AI coding assistants.🛍️ E-Commerce Ready: Premium commerce package for digital products, checkout providers, currency, tax, and shipping management.🧱 Visual Block Editor: A reusable Tiptap-powered Notion-style editor that your clients will actually enjoy using.🔓 Open-Core Model: The core is 100% Free & Open Source (AGPL). Premium features are activated via License Keys.
| Feature | NextBlock™ CMS | WordPress | Payload / Strapi |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tech Stack | |||
| Next.js 16 + Supabase | PHP + MySQL | React / Node.js | |
| Architecture | |||
| Nx Monorepo | Monolith | Monolith / Workspaces | |
| Performance | |||
| 🟢 100/100 (Default) | |||
| 🔴 Bloated (Plugins) | 🟡 Spec-dependent | ||
| Security | |||
| 🔒 Static/Edge First | 🔓 Plugin vulnerabilities | 🔒 Secure | |
| DX | |||
| 💎 React Server Components | |||
| 📜 Legacy PHP Hooks | 🧩 Config Heavy | ||
| AI Ready | |||
| ✅ Native | |||
| ❌ No | 🟡 Integration required |
Stop cloning heavy repos. Start with our CLI and get a production-ready app instantly.
npm create nextblock@latest
This runs the create-nextblock
CLI, which scaffolds the canonical application. The CLI no longer asks for credentials in the terminal — once the project is created, start it and finish setup in your browser:
npm run dev # then open http://localhost:4200/setup
The First-Boot Setup Wizard at /setup
walks you through connecting Supabase, configuring storage / email, and creating the first administrator. Every fresh instance redirects there automatically until an admin exists.
Tip — keep the new repo public.When Vercel asks, leave"Create private Git Repository" unchecked. On the free (Hobby) plan, automatic upstream updates only deploy from apublicrepo — Hobby blocks bot-authored deploys on private repos — and public also makes update checks fully tokenless. You can change visibility later in the repo's GitHub settings if you change your mind. Details:[docs/13].
During import, Vercel's native Supabase Marketplace integration (the stores
button parameter) prompts you to create a Supabase database (name + region), then
provisions it, connects it to the project, and injects its keys before the first
build — you never copy a value, and there are no environment variables to fill in
(the site URL defaults to your *.vercel.app
URL and the app secrets are derived automatically). The app boots with the database already connected: the wizard auto-skips the connection step, applies the schema for you, uses the connected Supabase project for media storage, and leaves just "create your admin." Full walkthrough: docs/12-VERCEL-DEPLOYMENT.md.
Want a fully local, zero-config sandbox?UseLocal Self-Hosted Docker Mode— one command spins up the entire stack (Supabase engines + S3 storage + the app) on your own machine, withno cloud accounts. The app boots straight into the/setup
wizard with MinIO storage pre-filled. See[docs/11-SELF-HOSTED-DOCKER.md].
Note:You are currently looking at theNx Monorepo(The Factory), not the generated product template.NextBlock™ is an Nx monorepo for a Next.js 16 CMS backed by Supabase. The repo contains the canonical application, the
create-nextblock
CLI, shared editor and UI packages, the database and migration layer, and the premium ecommerce module.
apps/nextblock
: canonical public site and CMS applicationapps/create-nextblock
: scaffolding CLI and template sync pipelinelibs/db
: Supabase clients, package activation checks, migrations, and db typeslibs/editor
: reusable Tiptap editor packagelibs/ecommerce
: premium commerce package and CMS commerce screenslibs/sdk
: typed block extensibility contractlibs/ui
,libs/utils
: shared primitives and helpers
Prerequisites — create these three things first; npm run setup
will ask for their keys:
Supabase project(dashboard) — you'll need the** Reference ID**(Project Settings → General), the** connection string**(Connect → Direct connection → URI), the** anon**+** service_rolekeys (Project Settings → API Keys), and a Personal Access Token**(Account → Access Tokens → Generate new token).** Cloudflare R2 bucket**(dashboard→ R2) — create a bucket, enable its** Public Development URL**(Bucket → Settings → General), then create an** Account API token**(R2 → Manage API Tokens) withObject Read & Write. Copy theAccess Key ID andSecret Access Key— the secret is shown only once.** SMTP credentials**(SMTP2GOworks very well) — required so Supabase can email the confirmation link your first admin needs to sign in.
Then run:
git clone https://github.com/nextblock-cms/nextblock.git
cd nextblock
npm install
npm run setup
npx nx serve nextblock
The interactive setup
wizard writes your .env.local
(Supabase, R2, SMTP, and auto-generated secrets), links the Supabase CLI, and applies the database schema.
First login: the dev server runs at ** http://localhost:4200**. Open
/sign-up
and create your account — the first account to register automatically becomes the
ADMIN. Click the confirmation email (or confirm the user in Supabase → Authentication → Users), then sign in to reach the CMS at
/cms/dashboard
.Prefer to run everything on your machine? With Docker Desktop running:
git clone https://github.com/nextblock-cms/nextblock.git
cd nextblock
npm install
npm run docker:setup # or: npm run setup → pick "Local Self-Hosted Docker Mode"
This builds and boots the full self-hosted stack (Postgres + GoTrue + PostgREST + Kong, MinIO for media, and the app) and applies migrations automatically — the only prompts are optional Turnstile and SMTP. The app runs at ** http://localhost:3000** and the first sign-up becomes ADMIN (auto-confirmed, no email step). Manage it with
npm run docker:up
/ docker:down
/ docker:logs
. Full guide: docs/11-SELF-HOSTED-DOCKER.md.
npx nx serve nextblock
-
Start the local development server for the CMS
npm run lint -
Lint the monorepo
npm run db:types -
Generate Supabase types
npm run db:migrate:check -
Preview pending Supabase migrations safely
npm run db:migrate
/npm run db:push
-
Apply pending migration files only, without resets or sandbox seeding
npm run db:migrate:repair-history:check -
Preview baseline migration-history repair for existing live databases
npm run generate:sandbox -
Generate sandbox data
npm run sandbox:reset -
Reset the sandbox environment
The root docs/
folder is the maintained reference set for both contributors and AI agents.
The template docs are copied from the root docs through the sync pipeline, so this root docs set is the place to maintain first.
| Document | Purpose |
|---|---|
docs/02-ECOMMERCE-CAPABILITIES.mddocs/03-CMS-AND-EDITOR.mddocs/04-DATABASE-AND-AUTH.mddocs/05-DEVELOPER-GUIDE.mddocs/06-CLI-AND-SCAFFOLDING.mdcreate-nextblock
, template sync, and generated-project behaviordocs/07-BLOCK-SDK-AND-EXTENSIBILITY.mddocs/08-NEXTBLOCK-CORTEX-AI-ARCHITECTURE.mddocs/09-LIVE-DRAFT-MODE.mddocs/10-CUSTOM-BLOCKS.mddocs/11-SELF-HOSTED-DOCKER.mddocs/README.md
Under the hood note:The migration folder underlibs/db/src/supabase/migrations
is the best source of truth for current platform capabilities.
Join the community and stay updated on the latest features.
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Built with ❤️ by the NextBlock™ Team. Licensed under AGPLv3.